Editing Conch (section)

==Other uses==
[[File:Conch drawing.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|A drawing of the shell of ''[[Strombus alatus]]'', the Florida fighting conch]]
* Conch shells are used as biologically grown calcium carbonate fertilizer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Help us change the tide|url=https://conchline.com|year=2023 |website=conchline.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://dirtsoilandmore.com/benefits-using-crushed-shell-natural-fertilizer/ | title=The Benefits of Using Crushed Shell as a Natural Fertilizer | date=29 January 2018 }}</ref>
* Conch shells are sometimes used as decoration, as decorative planters, and in [[cameo (carving)|cameo]] making.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Materials Used for Cameos |url=http://cascocameos.com/materials-used.html |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Casco Cameos, LLC. |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-02 |title=Shells Through the Centuries |url=https://bunnywilliams.com/pointofview-posts/shells-through-the-centuries/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Bunny Williams Interior Design |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In the Aztec culture, the conch played an important role in rituals, war, art, music, mythology, festivals, and even the calendar.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sea shell or conch |url=https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/artefacts/sea-shell |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=www.mexicolore.co.uk}}</ref>
* In [[India]], some [[artisan]]s make souvenirs, deity idols and other crafts by carving natural conch shells by hands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shankha {{!}} Shilpiyon - Rejuvenating The Artisans |url=https://www.shilpiyon.in/shankha |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=Shilpiyon |language=en}}</ref>
* Conch shells have been used as [[shell money]] in several cultures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10000 years of economy |url=http://www.citeco.fr/10000-years-history-economics/the-origins/cowry-shells-a-form-of-currency |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=www.citeco.fr |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Some American Aboriginals used cylindrical conch columella beads as part of breastplates and other personal adornment.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ewers|first=John Canfield|title=Hair pipes in Plains Indian adornment : a study in Indian and White ingenuity |url=https://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/BAE/Bulletin164/tptoc.htm
| series=Anthropological Papers, No. 50
| journal= Bureau of American Ethnology BULLETIN | volume=164|pages= 29–85, pls. 13–37
| publisher=United States Government Printing Office| place=  Washington DC| orig-date=1957
| via=Smithsonian Institution Libraries 
|date=1996
}}</ref>
* In India, the [[Bengalis|Bengali]] bride-to-be is adorned with conch shell and coral bangles called ''shakha paula''. It is a traditional wedding ritual for every Bengali bride.<ref name="storify.com">{{Cite web |url=https://storify.com/David75/significance-of-shakhapaula-for-a-bengali-bride |title=Significance of Shakha Paula for a Bengali Bride · Storify |access-date=2016-08-31 |archive-date=2016-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920054434/https://storify.com/David75/significance-of-shakhapaula-for-a-bengali-bride |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* In [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]], the conch is blown every day in the evening in [[Bengalis|Bengali]] houses as a daily ritual.
* In some [[Afro-Caribbean]] and African-American cemeteries, conch shells are placed on graves.<ref>''The Last Miles of the Way: African Homegoing Traditions, 1890-Present'', edited by Elaine Nichols.</ref>
* In some Caribbean countries such as Jamaica and the Bahamas, cleaned queen conch shells, or polished fragments, are sold, mainly to [[tourist]]s, as [[souvenir]]s or in [[jewelry|jewellery]]. Responding to a 2003 recommendation from [[CITES]], some countries in the Caribbean have banned the export of queen conch shells. CITES has also asked all countries to ban import of these shells from countries that are not complying with CITES recommendations for managing the fishery. Queen conch fisheries have been closed in several countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cites.org/eng/news/press/2003/031001_queen_conch.shtml|title=CITES suspends traConchesConchesde in queen conch shellfish|access-date=2009-08-14|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090707054050/http://www.cites.org/eng/news/press/2003/031001_queen_conch.shtml|archive-date=2009-07-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> Conch shells or fragments taken home by tourists from noncomplying countries may be confiscated on return to the tourist's home country while clearing [[customs]]. In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], conch shells are the 9th-most seized import.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/science/nature/1823044.stm | work=BBC News | title=UK 'complacent' over wildlife threats | date=2002-02-18 | access-date=2010-04-30}}</ref>
*Conch shells have been used as a building material since ancient times, and new research is being conducted, to replicate their material for practical uses such as bone replacement, and also in architecture, to construct stronger structures.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-03-11 |title=Sea shells inspire better building materials |url=https://newatlas.com/sea-shells-inspire-better-building-materials/14467/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In Grenada, fishermen use the conch shell as a trombone to announce to the community that fish is available for sale. Conchs are used at carnival times in the Jouvert Jump where Diab Diab (Jab Jab) blow conch shells as part of the festivities. Especially in [[Guadeloupe]], hearing conch shells being blown near ports at dawn and during Carnival times, too, is not uncommon. Many bands and trumpeters like Steve Turre use the conch shell in their performances.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-01 |title=Hear Steve Turre Play the Conch Shell on 'Sanctified Shells' |url=https://www.jazziz.com/hear-steve-turre-play-the-conch-shell-on-sanctified-shells/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=JAZZIZ Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In the Caribbean, broken or up-turned conch shells are embedded into the tops of outdoor walls in an effort to maintain home security.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-16 |title=Island Skills: How to Properly Remove a Conch from Its Shell |url=https://tcvillas.com/island-skills-shell-conch/ |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=Tcvillas |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In [[Tamil Nadu]], India, the conch horn is blown during funerals as an acoustic indication of the funeral and to ward off evil spirits.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
* In Key West, Florida, US, a native-born resident is affectionately called a "conch".{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
* In Japan, a conch is ''[[horagai]]'' (or ''jinkai''). It was used as a trumpet in special ceremonies such as a royal cremation during the Edo period.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/109791 |title=Object A726 - Conch Shell Trumpet |website=penn.museum |access-date=April 30, 2020}}</ref>
*Conch shells, (''pu'' in [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]) have been historically used as a method of communication, a tradition that is still observed in parts of modern life in Hawai'i.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Code Switch: Saving The Endangered Hawaiian Language|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/14/770133522/code-switch-saving-the-endangered-hawaiian-language|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Maui Now: Hundreds Participate in Annual First Day Hike|url=https://mauinow.com/2020/01/02/hundreds-participate-in-annual-first-day-hike/|website=Maui Now {{!}} Hawaii News {{!}} Hundreds Participate in Annual First Day Hike|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>